Dan’s advice is that genital birth defects need not mean no sex for life. Plus: Mummification text seemed to be out of a “horror movie.”

Q I am an 18-year-old straight male. I have a hodgepodge of birth defects that affect my genitalia: severe hypospadias (my urethra—my piss slit—is at the base of my penis), micropenis (less than two inches) and anorchia (I was born without testes). I have never been naked around anyone else. Lately, my sex drive has skyrocketed. It is driving me up the wall. Couple this with the fact that women see me as attractive, and I'm not doing well. It's frustrating that sexual situations are presenting themselves to me and there's nothing I can do. I've recently started college, and it's endlessly frustrating to see my friends having relationships and being sexually active. I know that casual sex/flings will never be an option for me, but I am dying over here! —Messed Up Junk

A "His story is one that is very familiar to us," says Tiger Howard Devore, vice-president of the Hypospadias and Epispadias Association. "He should know that he is not rare and many with his kind of genital difference have learned how to communicate about their difference to potential intimate partners."

You're right, MUJ: Casual sex/flings—shucking off your clothes and jumping into bed with a girl you've just met—may never be an option for you. But you know what? Drunken college hookups last an hour or two, while the communication skills you're going to have to develop to navigate your sex life will last a lifetime.

You will have a sex life, MUJ, and there is a lot you can do. There are women out there who prefer tongues, toys and touch to vaginal penetration. On the Savage Lovecast, I took a call from a woman who was worried she would never find a partner because, although she enjoys other kinds of sex, she's physically incapable of vaginal intercourse; there's a new dating website for straight men and women "who cannot engage in sexual intercourse" (2date4love.com) and if you fall in love with a woman who enjoys vaginal intercourse, sex shops sell strap-on dildos to men, too.

In short, MUJ, you have options. You also have role models. "One of the most validating and reassuring experiences someone with genital difference can have," says Devore, "is to meet with others who share their birth history and have dealt with the same issues of self-acceptance, shame and isolation, and the challenge of intimate relationships."

HEA hosts an annual conference and it's coming up, MUJ. If you can get your ass to Chicago over the weekend of October 21-23, I strongly encourage you to attend. "Connecting with others who share his difference is the best way to end his isolation and begin his healing," says Devore. "At the conference, he'll get expert information from doctors and psychologists, and he'll meet men who have grown up just like him and have faced the same fears and overcome them."

HEA offers financial aid to men who otherwise wouldn't be able to attend—an experience that is life-changing and, in some cases, life-saving—and I've made a donation so more men with hypospadias can attend this year: heainfo.org.

Q I'm a 26-year-old girl from Austria currently seeing a guy who likes to tie me up and gag me. It is just cuffs and ball gags so far, and I am enjoying it! Recently he sent this text message: "mummification sounds fun." In his case, "sounds fun" means "I wish to try it." I looked it up online. Holy! I was scared after watching this video of a guy wrapping a woman first in cling film and then in duct tape! Face and everything! It seemed like out of a horror movie! I texted him back: "I realize this could be a lot of fun for you, but I don't think I can do that." He's never mentioned it again.

I feel awful for denying him. Is there anything I can do to get over being terrified? Was it fair to say, "Not gonna happen"? —Because I Am Scared

A "BIAS should know that it was absolutely OK for her to say, 'Not gonna happen,'" says Tynan Fox, kinkster, activist and blogger (tynanfox.com). Fox, 27, has been into mummification for more than a decade but says he can appreciate why even some bondage fans aren't into it.

"Many people are claustrophobic," says Fox, "and they can't stomach the idea of being wrapped up, and who can blame them? Mummification is extreme play. But her boyfriend is being completely appropriate—she said she wasn't interested, he hasn't mentioned it again—and they should both be commended for their open and honest communication."

The only way to get over your feelings of terror, if you want to explore this, is to try it while taking things very, very slowly.

Q I moved in with a friend of a friend when I was desperate to find housing in a new city. The guy I live with would be an ideal roommate except he sometimes makes homophobic comments. I never told him I'm gay—and now I don't feel comfortable—but homophobia is not the reason I am writing.

In the midst of my online exploits, I found an Xtube channel for a guy who is most certainly my roommate. He wears a mask in the videos, but the voice, build and tattoos are the same and his bedroom is unmistakable. In the videos, he fucks himself silly with massive dildos while begging for cock. Part of me wants to pull one of the videos up the next time he makes a comment. Part of me loves the idea of giving this homophobe a good fucking. What to do? —Roommate's Anal Movies

A Your living situation sounds like a setup for a great porn parody, RAM. (When a Stranger Comes: "The ass-stretching amateur porn is coming from inside the apartment!") It also sounds like an opportunity. If you're into this guy—and, having watched his videos (thanks for the link), it looks like you could literally walk right into this guy—why not seize that great, big gaping opening created by your little discovery?

The next time your roommate makes a homophobic remark, RAM, tell him you're gay, tell him you don't appreciate his comments and tell him you're somewhat mystified by his remarks in light of his body of work. Then roll the tape.

There's a chance—a slim chance—that he's not gay and just enjoys anal play, sexual transgression and the attention he gets from men online. Here's hoping you wind up fucking some sense into your roommate and an apology out of him.

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